What do you think holds us together ? What should be our attitude to these moments of living? What are we struggling with? Where is 2023 taking us - these moments of 'post pandemic weariness' ? Is the future welcoming ?
Burkeman on the lessons of Time
Posted on by James Woodward
Four Thousand Weeks: Embrace your limits. Change your life. Make your four thousand weeks count Vintage 2022
What is your relationship to time ? How long is that To Do list ? And what about those good intentions we start any day with? This Saturday started quite
From the Shores of Silence – Learning from feminist voices in Practical Theology
Posted on by James Woodward
From the Shores of Silence
Conversations in Feminist Practical Theology
Edited by Ashley Cocksworth, Rachel Starr and Stephen Burns with Nicola Slee
SCM Press £30.00
(ISBN 9780334060963)
Practical theology has had a slow journey into securing some
Transgressive Devotion : radical, original, unsettling theology at its honest best
Posted on by James Woodward
I remember one of my university teachers sitting in on a seminar that I was leading some 20 years ago. He was attentive and appeared to be making careful notes. On the feedback form his only comment was, ‘clearly expressed and excellent engagement with the group, but
Reading David Whyte – Consolations
Posted on by James Woodward
We live in strange times. Listening to this mornings news adds to the complexity and anxiety. The junior doctors strike which informs us to avoid being ill this week. The advance of AI and its implications for our knowing and understanding. The preparations for the
‘Bedtime’ Reading : Super- Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne
Posted on by James Woodward
Being confined to quarters while a bout of flu ( or something - I have never been very good at diagnosis ) and amidst cancelling appointments ( sorry ) and searching for paracetemol brings some gifts. Determined to leave the e mails to answer themselves ( wouldn't th
Listening to your Soul Julia Mourant
Posted on by James Woodward
Canterbury Press 2022 ISBN-13 9781786223364 Pb 144pp
In these strange and unpredictable post lockdown days of uncertainty and weariness who do you turn to for support? Who listens to us ? How do we listen to ourselves ? At any point on our life journ
PRACTICES FOR THE SOUL : FINDING MEANING IN OUR STRANGE NEW WORLD ?
Posted on by James Woodward
The Power of Ritual : Turning Everyday Activities Into Soulful Practices Casper Ter Kuile William Collins 2020
reposted from 6th April 2021
I am indebted to my friend Jane Shaw for pointing me in the direction of this rather stimulating and wonderful book. It came out
Waking up to God – Exploring faith by asking the right questions?
Posted on by James Woodward
Waking Up to God:
Rediscovering Faith in Post-Pandemic Times by Neil Richardson
Sacristy Press 2022
Neil Richardson has had a long and distinguished ministry as a Methodist theologian. This has included serving as the British Methodist Presid
ON FAILURE – HOW TO SUCCEED AT DEFEAT
Posted on by James Woodward
(The School of Life 2022)
A hopeful and encouraging book that is gentle on its reader!
In 2008, Alain de Botton was one of a team of writers and educators who founded The School of Life. Based in centres across the World, The School of Life , offers an emotional educa
Hearing God in Poetry by Richard Harries
Posted on by James Woodward
Hearing God in Poetry
Fifty Poems for Lent and Easter
Richard Harries SPCK 2022
This is the time of the year when some turn to the possibility of taking something up for the season of Lent as part of a pilgrimage of disciplined and intentional spiritual learn
Chosen : Lost and Found between Christianity and Judaism Giles Fraser Allen Lane 2021
Posted on by James Woodward
Some of you might be be familiar with the BBC series Who do you think you are? In the programme a number of celebrities uncover, one assumes with the BBC researchers assistance, a number of lost connections and unfamiliar parts of their histories. The thread running throug
‘Its not about me’ : Reading Cottrell On Priesthood over a lockdown weekend
Posted on by James Woodward
I wonder what you are finding absorbs your time and attention during these strange hours and days? My table at home is gathering some small (and neatly organised) piles of books. Some associated with work and lectures to prepare. Some for pleasure and others (I hope)
Take this Journey with Rohr
Posted on by James Woodward
Richard Rohr The Universal Christ SPCK 2019 ( £9.99)
It is an often stated conviction expressed by a wide variety of individuals and groups that the Church, Organised Religion and (important for us here at Sarum College) Theology are in decline. The statistics certainly bea
Back to my Roots? The legacy of Brooke Foss Westcott
Posted on by James Woodward
I finished reading Isabel Hardman on turned to thoroughly researched life of Westcott. There were many resonances and connections. As the son of a miner the title was arresting. Ordained in Durham after theological studies at Westcott House Cambridge there were further
Christmas Reading – what kind of politicians do we have or need?
Posted on by James Woodward
I wonder what you will dip into over this holiday season by way of escape or relaxation?
I took a risk with this book. The title was arresting and the author the recognisable voice of BBC Radio 4s Westminster Hour. Of course we live in a complex and contested world and
A Shaking Reality – a new book for Advent from Peter Price
Posted on by James Woodward
A Shaking Reality : Daily Reflections for Advent
Peter B Price
DLT 2018
Sometimes even the the most faithful of hearts might wonder how our religious words, images and metaphors make a difference. How do they shape our understanding of the worl
Spirituality in Hospice Care
Posted on by James Woodward
Spirituality in Hospice Care
How Staff and Volunteers Can Support the Dying and Their Families
Edited by Andrew Goodhead and Nigel Hartley Jessica Kingsley Publishers
2017, 240pp (pbk) ISBN: 9781785921025 £19.99
The concepts of spirituality and spiritual care a
In a Glass Darkly: The Bible, Refection and Everyday Life
Posted on by James Woodward
In a Glass Darkly: The Bible, Reflection and Everyday Life
Zoe Bennett, Christopher Rowland SCM Press £25
(978-0-334-05422-1)
Moments of honesty and candour can be both refreshing and threatening in equal measure. I recently heard an intelligent and energetic paris
Still Growing : The Creative Self in Older Age
Posted on by James Woodward
Still Growing
The Creative Self in Older Adulthood
Donald Capps
The Lutterworth press 2015, PB 208pp, 9780718893910, £16.50.
This is the most delightful of books in its thoroughness, scholarship and creativity. It has all the potential to transform the readers